The Women's ODI World Cup 2025 clash between India and Pakistan was halted for a while after bugs disrupted the players' focus and movement on the field at R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on Sunday, October 5.

Team India was put to bat first after losing the toss to Pakistan skipper Fatima Sana. The openers gave the Women in Blue a steady start to the innings, with Smriti Mandhana and Pratika Rawal forming a 48-run stand before the vice-captain was dismissed for 23. Rawal's stay at the crease also came to an end after being dismissed for 31 at 67/2.

After Pratika Rawal's dismissal, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur joined Harleen Deol at the crease to carry on India's batting. The pair stitched a 39-run stand for the third wicket to take the Women in Blue past the 100-run mark before Harmanpreet was dismissed for 19 at 106/3, leaving Harleen Deol to steady the innings for India.

Bugs Stop Play in Colombo

After Harmanpreet Kaur's dismissal, Harleen Deol was joined by Jemimah Rodrigues at the crease to carry on India's innings. The pair rebuilt the Women in Blue's innings and took the team past the 150-run mark, with steady partnerships and sensible shot-making, before Harleen was dismissed for 46 at 151/4.

However, the players were distracted by bugs swarm at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. Over the last couple of days, Colombo witnessed heavy rainfall, which resulted in the match between Sri Lanka and Australia being abandoned without a toss, and the bugs emerged in large numbers on the outfield.

After 34 overs of India's batting, the match was halted for 15 minutes, and the officials called in pest control to clear the swarm before the play was resumed.

Players are going off the field so pest control folks can spray the bugs away. My traumatised brain saw umpire calling people off and eyes went straight to the sky for signs of rain, the players were really getting bothered. Fumigation underway. Expect a 10-minute-ish... twitter/WuoRTlJlSx

- Lavanya ️‍ (@lav_narayanan) October 5, 2025

Not rain, not light... but bugs! Pak vs Ind Women's World Cup clash halted for pest control spray#WomensWorldCup #INDWvsPAKW #WorldCup #Indiancricketteam #bharatarmy #coti twitter/oP8TGV79Yw

- The Bharat Army (@thebharatarmy) October 5, 2025

As the match resumed, no overs were lost, allowing India to continue their innings uninterrupted and maintain momentum against Pakistan. After India resumed their batting after a halt of play due to a bug swarm, Jemimah Rodrigues' stay at the crease came to an end, dismissed for 32 at 15, leaving Deepti Sharma to anchor the innings and guide the team through the middle overs.

Can Team India make it '12-0' against Pakistan?

Team India and Pakistan have locked horns for the 12th time in the history of Women's ODI Cricket. In 11 ODI matches between two arch-rivals, the Women in Blue emerged victorious on every occasion, underlining their dominance over Pakistan in ODI cricket. In the Women's ODI World Cup, the two met four times, and against Team India, Pakistan has yet to register a victory, highlighting India's unbroken winning streak in the tournament.

Having not lost a single match in the Women's ODI cricket against Pakistan, Team India will look to extend their unbeaten streak over the arch-rivals by maintaining a perfect '12-0' record, maintaining sheer dominance over Pakistan.

Meanwhile, Team India bundled out for 247 in 50 overs and set a 250-run target for Pakistan to chase. After Jemimah Rodrigues's dismissal at 159/5, Deepti Sharma (25) and Sneh Rana (20) formed a 42-run stand for the sixth wicket to take the past 200-run mark before the latter's dismissal at 201/6. Thereafter, Deepti was dismissed at 203/7.

After Deepti Sharma's dismissal, Richa Ghosh led India's innings with an unbeaten knock of 35 off 20 balls to a competitive total of 247 in 50 overs.

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